Feedeeic m



(No Model.)

F. M. STONE.

BILL HOOK FILE. I

NO. 382,497. v Patented May. 8, 1888;

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/ M PLTERS, F'halo-Lilhaghpher. Washinginn. n. a

UNITED STATES PAT NT "OFFICE.

FREDERIO M. STONE, OF UNION HILL, NEW JERSEY.

BILL-HOOK FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 382,497, dated May 8, 1888.

Application filed February 16, 1888. Serial No. 26l,174. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FREDERIC M. STONE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Union Hill, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bill-Hook Files, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to theconstruotion of 'bill-hook files of wire; and it consists of the novel features hereinafter described for pro ducing a more simple andcheap device than heretofore used, and one of superior efficiency.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of a bill-hook file embodying my invention. Fig. '2 represents a side view thereof. 7

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Said file isv composed of a back, A, of approximately pear shape, and a hook, B, which projects from said back at the base or lower portion thereof and thence upward in the line of the center of the back, the whole being formed ofa single piece of wire. By said shape of the back A it is adapted to be suspended from a nail atits upper or smaller end, thereby bringing the hook Him a vertical position to receive the desired bills or papers, while the lower or wider portion of the back not only constitutes an effective support for the papers on the hook, but also facilitates the adjustment of the file on the nail, inasmuch as the nail may be first brought in the wider portion and then in the top or smaller portion of the device. At a point opposite to or near the end of the hook B the back is contracted, as at O, to render the space between the double wire of a width less than the thickness of the hook, so that if the end of the hook is forced through said contraction it is engaged thereby, with the effect of retainingthe hook in a closed position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, which affords an additional security against the papers coming off the hook, as when they are being handled.

In the present example of my invention the hook B is made to spring away from the back A, so that if the contracted part is spread to release the end of the hook the latter at once assumes an open position; but, if desirable, the hook' may be made to spring toward the back, so as to close automatically.

In the manufacture of my filethe wire is first, v

bent to a pear shape and joined at the base, as at D, and then bent to form the hook, and by its construction a comparatively small amount of wire is used, which simplifies and cheapens the device, while it at the same time is very effective in use.

I am aware that a bill-file has heretofore been made of wire with a hook and a catch for receiving the end of the hook, and I do not 1 claim such, broadly, as my invention..

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A billhook file formed of a single piece of spring-wire, with a back, A, of approximately pear shape, adapted to be suspended by its upper or smaller end, and a hook, B, projecting outward from the base of said back and thence upward in the line of the center thereof, the back being contracted at a point opposite to the end of the hook to receive said end, and

.thereby retain the hook at a closed position,

as shown and described.

' FREDEB'I'O M. STONE. Witnessesz b FRANCIS O. BOWEN, K. O..WB1TE. 

